Faux Snakeskin for Boy Scout ( Cub Scouts) Arrow Tutorial

Okay, this week is my week to do the craft for Cub Scouts. Can I come up with a simple project? Noooooooo . . . Of course not. So, we are making arrows. I'm hoping that since all the hard part is pre-finished we should be able to do it in the half hour I have . . . Wish me luck.

This tutorial is for the faux snakeskin, but I will give a quick overview of the whole project. I started with raw wood dowels from the hardware store (3/8"). My husband sawed a notch in one end (for the arrow) and a decorative smaller notch on the other end. We then stained each piece. I ordered some really cool turkey feathers from eBay (note: you could do this project a lot cheaper with craft store feathers, but I wanted it to look more authentic - message me or leave a comment here if you want a link for the feathers). I cut the nib off of the feathers and used both a left and a right feather for each arrow. Using a craft knife I sliced the feathers down the center and the cut a portion from the top, at an angle (see finished arrow later in the week). Using electrical tape (which the boys can cover with cord later if they wish - we will) we attached the arrow into the notch and the the feathers to the end. I just decided to go buy some raw leather cord this morning so we can hang the small side I cut from the feather with a bead from the back end. That's why no finished project until later in the week (can't do anything simply) lol.

Okay, the faux snakeskin you've been waiting for....drumroll please . . .




Okay, this picture doesn't do it justice, I swear! When I finish I will get a better picture too, but here's what I did. I started with a roll of aluminum plumbers tape ... Yes I said plumbers tape. I cut it into pieces about 4" long (or however long a sizzix embossing folder is - I can check later when hubby not sleeping upstairs) and colored with alcohol inks (you can use sharpie markers and blend with rubbing alcohol too, but it's a little more difficult to get the desired effect. I used a deep yellow and a teal and blended for tones of yellow, green and blue - I threw some red in there too for good measure and used a ranger blending solution to muck it up and blend colors. Next I ran the pieces four at a time through my die cut machine in an embossing folder with a harlequin type pattern (there are several different types that would work - this is just what I had). After that I covered each piece in in embossing ink and then in Lindy Stamp Gang salmon gold embossing powder. After heating and cooling, I used my emboss ink applicator and applied kind of sketchy, in what I consider a snake pattern. I sprinkled black embossing powder and tapped off as much as I could and heated; and voila . . Snakeskin! The best part is that since it's tape, the boys can just stick it right on for a decorative center and finish the end with a thin piece of electrical tape.

Thanks for checking out my blog!

~ Make Today Count
Wendy